A Defence of Poesie and PoemsPhilip SidneyOmniClassics · Literature
A Defence of Poesie and Poems
Philip SidneyA defence of poetry argues that imaginative invention can move readers towards understanding and action in ways factual instruction alone cannot.
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About the book
Sidney answers objections to poetry by examining its place among forms of learning and its power to combine pleasure with instruction. Where history is limited to what happened and philosophy can remain abstract, the poet may create an example that makes a possibility vividly persuasive. The argument considers different poetic kinds and the responsibility involved in their use, distinguishing the potential of an art from failures committed in its name. This volume also includes poems, placing examples of Sidney's verse beside his critical reasoning. The prose is a rhetorical performance as well as a defence, drawing on classical authorities and a lively sequence of comparisons. Its central question concerns what imagination contributes to ethical understanding, especially when a reader must be moved to act rather than merely informed.
- Imagination and knowledge
- Poetry and ethics
- Persuasion
Why read it
For a foundational defence of imaginative literature that asks how delight and vivid example can contribute to moral understanding.
Critical prose and poems · English text